Stress, by definition, is the reaction of an animal body to forces of deleterious nature, infections and various abnormal states that tend to disturb homeostasis.
Animals exposed to stress respond with changes in the activity of the autonomic and neuroendocrine systems and in behavior. The activation of these biological systems is a prerequisite for the animal to cope with stress and thus is the principal resource that will provide the adequate biological defense against a threat that challenges the homeostasis of the animal. Moberg, G. P. Animal Stress, pp. 27-49 (1985); Vogel, W. H. Neuropsychobiology, 13 pp. 1290135 (1985).
In animals, including humans, stress stimulates the release of Adenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) which controls the release of cortisol from the adrenal cortex.
In humans, stress can lead to medical problems such as ulcers and erosions, acute gastritis and diarrhea. Onsets of erythrocytosis, inflammatory bowel disease, heart attacks and ischemia are influenced by stress. In fact, there is a valid clinical impression that psychic or emotional stress and anxiety are associated with precipitation of overt ischemic heart diseases and sudden death. See, Harrison's Principles of Internal Medicine, McGraw-Hill Inc., 12th Edition (1991).
Animals, such as pigs, dogs, cattle and the like are also influenced by changes in their environment. The result of animals being taken out of their environment, being herded together and transported often results in the animals being stressed. As a consequence, pathological disorders, mortality, delays in growth and disorders in behavior often occur in stress-related conditions. Disorders in behavior often lead to aggressive fighting when animals are mixed.
It is well known, for instance, that social stress is common during the growing period. This social stress often occurs as a consequence of separation from the dam, moving to a new environment and mixing with unacquainted younglings. In the field of animal husbandry, social stress occurs often in piglets.
This social stress often leads to agonistic behavior among animals, which consists of fighting or trying to escape. For example, piglets begin fighting within hours of birth and when pigs of any age meet, a fight is likely to occur. See, McGlone, J J, Journal of Animal Science, 68:11 pgs. 86-97 (1990)
In fact, it has been observed that when pigs fight, they assume a particular posture wherein the pigs face one another with their shoulders pressed together. The objective of this position is to place bites on the ears of their opponents. The winner places about three times as many bites on the ear than the loser. While pigs rarely kill one another, the fighting often inflicts large wounds during the course of the battle, especially on the head, ears, neck and shoulders. McGlone,supra suggest that a pheromone is released during the end of a fight that signals submission.
Because of the varied forms and effects of aggression associated with stress and especially anxiety related problems, clinical experts have sought to cure or prevent these problems by treatment with psychotropic or neuroleptic drugs. Among the categories of drugs that were used to stress-related problems should be mentioned amperazide, chlorpromazine, azaperone, haloperidol, properciazine, prochlorperazine, diazepam, meprobamate, phenobarbital, phenothiazines and butyrophenones.
For example, Dantzer, R. in Veterinary Science Communications, 1 pgs. 161-169 (1977) reviews the use of neuroleptic drugs for fattening animals to improve production, as well as the use of tranquilizers to reduce the problems of stress.
Kyriakis & Anderson in J. Vet. Pharmacol. Therap., 12, pgs 232-236 (1989) disclose the use of amperozide to modify social behavior and treat wasting pig syndrome. Wasting pig syndrome is a phenomenon whereby stressed piglets degenerate to death.
However, no one knows the long-term effects of these drugs when humans consume meat taken from animals that have been given the various drugs. In fact, in many cases, the administration of neuroleptic drugs in the feeds to fatten animals does not directly improve production and have adverse effects such as slower weight increase, a decline in milk production in dairy cows and a decline in laying eggs in the case of poultry. In some cases delayed sexual maturity has also been observed. Dantzer, supra.
By definition, pheromones are substances released by the body that cause a predictable reaction by another individual of the same species.
A number of different glands are known to produce pheromones in male mammals such as the submaxillary salivary glands, the parathyroid glands and the sebaceous glands.
Pheromones that are secreted in the submaxillary salivary and parathyroid glands in males, are used to mark females during courtship. In boars, the secretion of these glands results in agonistic behavior. These secretions are known to contain a mixture of androstenol and androsterone.
The use of genital pheromones to augment artificial insemination in pigs has been described, in example by Komonov et al.,Russia application No. 1720640 A1, wherein said genital pig pheromone comprises butyric acid, acetic acid, and capric acid. This reference fails to describe the use of a genital pheromone to reduce stress and anxiety.
Maternal odors are known to have an attractive effect on piglets and play an important role in maternal-neonatal behavior in pigs. Piglets are known to ingest maternal feces and are attracted to this substance. Tesch and McGlone (J. Anim. Sci. 68, pgs 3563-357 (1990). Thus olfactory communication between the sow and her litter occurs through the production of attractive substances.
Due to this maternal attraction, when piglets are separated from their mothers, stress-related behavior often results which leads to increase in fighting, and stress-related weight loss.
This phenomenon is also observed in other mammals such as humans, when an infant is separated from its mother leading to anxiety in the child.
Thus, to treat stress and stress-related symptoms without using the various tranquilizing drugs in mammals has not yet been achieved.
Thus, it is an object of the present invention to provide an alternative treatment for stress and anxiety in mammals.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a novel composition which treats stress without having the side effects of tranquilizing drugs.
Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a treatment to reduce aggressive behavior in mammals.
Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a composition that enhances weight gain in mammals.
Yet another object of the present invention is to reduce mortality and morbidity during infectious events in mammals.
Still another object of the present invention is to reduce feed conversion efficiency; i.e., the ratio of food consumed/weight gained.
These and other objects are achieved by the present invention as evidenced by the summary of the invention, description of the preferred embodiments and the claims.